Sound Off: Considering a career as a Realtor? Here’s what to remember

Published 5:19 pm, Friday, October 21, 2016

Image 1of/3

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 3

Image 2 of 3

Photo: Bernie Katzmann And Mike Shaw

Image 3 of 3

Sound Off: Considering a career as a Realtor? Here’s what to remember

1 / 3

Back to Gallery

A: Working for yourself in a flexible career where you can set your own schedule and have unlimited earning potential sounds great — but as in any career — the career of real estate has definite pros and cons

As an agent you are your own boss — you are an independent contractor and control your own book of business and make all the decisions. Sounds good, but conversely that means you have to maintain your clients needs, networking relationships and all of the marketing of your business. Its all in your hands and many new agents fail to recognize how much work it takes to become successful.

LATEST REAL ESTATE VIDEOS

These Are the Cities Where Millennials Can Actually Afford to Buy HomesMoneyTime

These Are the Next 5 Industries That Amazon Could Take OverMoneyTime

President Trump Has A Lot Of Property Sitting In Hurricane Irma's WayBuzz60

Richmond community, Veranda, offers small-town feel.chron

How to Buy a House: MortgagesMoneyTalksNews

You Can Buy One of NYC's Most Iconic HotelsFortuneTime

How to Sell a House: Curb AppealMoneyTalksNews

Peek Inside Jackie Kennedy’s $49.5 Million Childhood HomeMoneyTime

Oakland housing heating upKTVU2

How the Property Brothers Turned $250 Into $50,000 on Their First FlipTMTime

Realtors make a good income. Your income isn't limited by an hourly wage - as a real estate agent your income is largely dictated by the time you invest and the growth potential is huge. Sounds good, but at first your cash flow is only in one direction - out. Most new agents need a nest egg to begin Getting the first sale can take time, and it may be months before you cash your first check.

Realtors work flexible schedules - You don't work 9-5 - which is nice, but having a flexible schedule means you have to be flexible to the clients needs — in real estate you work when others aren't. That includes weekends and evenings.

Overall, it can be a very difficult career if the training and work ethic isn't there, but it can be a seriously rewarding career if you are self motivated, hardworking, disciplined, honest, and enjoy helping people in their largest transaction.

A: There are both many benefits and many drawbacks to being a Realtor. For me, the benefits include being able to draw on my complete skill set, being challenged every day and helping people with something that has a major impact on their lives. Since becoming established, the financial benefits have also been rewarding. The drawbacks include never, ever being able to shut off and working lots of hours, including nights and weekends.

Many people get into real estate because they think there's flexibility — and there is. A successful Realtor can work any 60 hours a week he or she chooses. Getting started in the career is probably the hardest part. There's an 80 percent failure rate in the business. The first two years, most successful Realtors work 50 to 60 hours and take home absolutely no money. Having savings and a solid support system are absolutely essential in order to get started.

If you're thinking of becoming a Realtor, it's important to have a growth mindset. Both in the initial phases when you're trying to keep yourself from being discouraged and even after you become successful. You need to constantly be learning and growing in order to be at the top of your game at all times.

In my case, I am a self-improvement junkie — so for me, that works really well.

A: The benefits of being a successful Realtor lie in one’s love of people, love of San Francisco, love of design and the art of negotiating and making a sale. Seeing the pure joy on a client’s face as we hand them keys to their new home is magical. We find our greatest reward in working tirelessly to exceed our clients goals, not for the commission bur rather to do the right thing for our clients. This brings about immense satisfaction for all, and happy clients lead to referrals and ongoing success in the business.

Some people believe that being a Realtor is easy; you just write an offer and get a fat commission. Wrong! Successful Realtors work long hours, late nights and weekends. Realtors are independent contractors and while the company may help advance your career, you are almost solely responsible for your own success by committing a very significant amount of time, hard work and money to building your business. The Realtor's job description includes research, marketing, scheduling, understanding real estate laws, and most importantly, doing the right thing for your clients.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.